Chapter 41: Normal day

After walking for half an hour, the trio arrived at the Candy Complex.

Leaving Omar and Kai, Oliver went to look for Eric to discuss Kai's situation.

After all, Healing Potions were extremely important—especially during a Monster Tide.

After searching for a while, Oliver found Eric in his room.

"Eric, can I come in?" Oliver knocked on the door and asked for permission to enter.

"Come in," Eric replied, stopping his absorption of the surrounding Ki.

As Oliver entered the room, Eric wondered why he was there.

Usually, Oliver liked hanging around with Omar and Orion, and he didn't come to Eric unless it was something important.

"I want to talk about Kai. Counting today and yesterday, I was only able to secure three Healing Potions. It's becoming harder and harder to get them. So I was thinking, maybe we should support Kai in becoming a Rank 2 Alchemist," Oliver said, sitting down in the chair and explaining his reason for coming.

For almost two months now, Oliver had been handling logistics for the whole team. It was his job to buy all the necessary pills, potions, and other supplies.

It hadn't been difficult to get Healing Potions before, but ever since the new Mayor was elected, Healing Potions had been flying off the shelves.

"You know, Oliver, since Tony got injured, we have nothing left in our names," Eric said, thinking Oliver was asking for financial help to support Kai—maybe to buy some item or a skill book useful for Alchemy.

After all, he had heard that the Honey Pill Shop only taught new Alchemists the basics and then left them to fend for themselves. Ultimately, when the trainees failed to meet their daily tasks, the shop would offer them an "olive branch"—tying them to the store.

"I'm not asking for financial help. I know our financial situation better than you," Oliver said. "Today I asked Kai about Healing Potions, and he told me that after undergoing his third Heavenly Trial, he should be able to make them."

"So, I was wondering if maybe we could take him hunting with us to help him quickly undergo his third Heavenly Trial."

When Eric mentioned their current financial condition, Oliver quickly clarified that he wasn't asking for financial help for Kai.

After all, the most valuable item in the entire Candy Complex was the bow that Sophia currently used—something they had obtained from a Silver Chest.

"Just this? It's not a problem. After the Monster Tide ends, let's take Kai with us for a few days."

Hearing that Kai only needed help building his Ki reserves, Eric immediately agreed. However, he decided it would be safer to take Kai along only after the Monster Tide ended—since the Monster Tide could be extremely dangerous for newbies.

"Then it's decided," Oliver said, before leaving the room.

"It seems he found a solution..." Eric mumbled to himself after Oliver left.

The last time he had asked Kai about the situation at the Honey Pill Shop, Kai didn't give a clear answer—he just said it was no longer a problem.

It now seemed his solution involved obtaining a specific Gift.

---

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the Candy Complex, Kai was playing with Yara.

When Kai and Omar had returned, Orion was just about to begin Yara's evening lessons.

However, the moment Yara saw Kai, she ran over and started playing with him instead.

After half an hour of running around, Kai was finally able to convince Yara to focus on her studies first.

While Yara studied, Kai sat down and began absorbing the surrounding Ki, working to complete a full cycle using the Ki he had obtained from the Elk Deer meat.

In just a few minutes, Kai completed a cycle, and the Source Ki happily devoured the new wisp of energy.

[Ki: 607]

Kai didn't stop there. After fully absorbing the Ki from the Elk Deer meat, he continued drawing in ambient Ki from the environment.

An hour later, he completed two more cycles, and his Ki reserves increased again.

[Ki: 609]

While Kai was busy increasing his Ki reserves, everyone gathered in the backyard and began preparing dinner.

Soon, the meal was ready, and Kai ate lightly before heading back to his room.

Returning to his room, he lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and slowly drifted into dreams.

Knock Knock

The sudden knock pulled Kai from his dream, and he woke up.

"Who is it?" Kai asked groggily.

"Big bro, can I sleep with you tonight?" Yara's voice came from outside the door.

Since it was Yara, Kai got up, opened the door, and let her in.

Yara entered the room with tired eyes, holding her pillow. She skillfully climbed into bed, placed her pillow down, and immediately fell asleep.

Seeing this, Kai also lay beside her and soon drifted off again.

[Ancient Calendar: 18 April 0001]

The next morning, Kai woke up and saw Yara still fast asleep. He quietly got out of bed and took a shower.

After freshening up, he headed downstairs to the lounge.

"Was Yara with you last night?" Sophia asked as she prepared breakfast. One by one, the others were starting to come out of their rooms.

When Orion saw Kai, he also asked.

"Yeah, she's still asleep," Kai replied, finding a seat at the dining table.

Soon, breakfast was served. It wasn't anything fancy—just scrambled eggs with a few pieces of bacon.

After breakfast, Kai helped clean the dishes and then headed to work.

After more than half an hour of walking, Kai arrived at the Honey Pill Shop. Entering the shop, he took the brewing list from Miya and headed into his alchemy room.

[Brewing List]

Name: Kai

Date: Year 0, Month 4, Day 18

Task: 4 Essence Boost Potions and 4 Strength Potions]

Seeing the tasks, Kai began by preparing all the necessary ingredients for both potions.

Once everything was ready, Kai started by making the Essence Boost Potion.

First, he poured 7 liters of Moonwater into the pot and let it thicken. Once the Moonwater was ready, he added 2 ground Dragon Roots along with some powdered Whispering Fern.

After stirring for a while, Kai added the stems of Sunlit Blossom, which had been ground into a fine powder.

With the easy part done, the hard part began—Kai had to continuously stir the mixture for half an hour.

Once the potion was ready, Kai poured it into potion vials and started preparing the next batch.

About an hour later, another batch of Essence Boost Potion was ready, and Kai moved on to making the Strength Potion.

The process for making Strength Potion was similar to the Essence Boost Potion.

Kai first poured in 7 liters of Moonwater, then added powdered Bloodroot and Ironleaf. After a while, he added 2 drops of Titan's Tears and continued stirring.

In half an hour, the first pot of Strength Potion was ready.

Immediately afterward, Kai began brewing the second pot of Strength Potion. In about 4 hours, Kai completed the tasks on the brewing list.

"Deactivate [Clear Mind] and [Heighten Five Senses]."

After finishing both the Essence Boost and Strength Potions, the first thing Kai did was deactivate both of his Gifts.